Throughout history, Americans have sought to propagate the spirit of equality, seen as the achievement of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question in mind: What is freedom? Our country received it from the British in 1776 through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. Even more, women who obtained the right to vote defined their freedom as their recognition in society and the fact that their rights were equal to those of any other man. These different perceptions of American cultures/groups came together to form an American vision of freedom. Freedom is something that every American should be willing to do anything to preserve. We may possess weapons of mass destruction, but when it comes to living a peaceful American lifestyle, our freedom is our greatest weapon. If the soldiers who fought in the American Revolution were alive today to see what our nation accomplished, they would. cry tears of joy. These people defined their freedom as having an independent country where everyone would come together and live under one set of laws where they all had equal rights. The 1776 novel focuses on the emotions Americans felt during the signing of the Declaration of Independence through the following lines: "The year 1776, celebrated as the birth of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence before a year of too few victories, of sustained suffering, of disease, of hunger, of desertion, of cowardice, of disillusionment, of defeat, of terrible discouragement and fear, as they never would during...... middle of paper ...... as African Americans undertook journeys to escape the restrictions of their masters, women undertook similar journeys to escape the restrictions of the men around them. Immigrants further strove to adapt to the American way of life and to be recognized as Americans. All three groups seemed to shape the American lifestyle. Today, these three perceptions of freedom have appeared in our lives. As we can see, the transition of freedom from racial equality to gender equality shows that freedom is constantly evolving. Everyone acquires their own definition of freedom but the reality of it is still unknown; people may simply have different perceptions of freedom. However, in today's society, African Americans live freely, women are independent, and immigrants are accepted into society. What more freedom can you ask for??